Schoolboy, 14, leapt to his death from Asda car park after being bullied on Snapchat 'over good grades'

The parents of a schoolboy who took his own life after he was relentlessly bullied because of his good grades have spoken for the first time about the tragedy.

Mark and Anita Abel and said their son Sam, 14, “loved school and loved learning, but hated the people who were there” and that his death will “haunt” them for the rest of their lives.

The teenager took his own life by jumping off a supermarket car park earlier this year after he was bombarded with spiteful messages on social media day and night.

An inquest heard how he had shared text messages with friends about his depression and suicidal thoughts before the tragic incident took place on January 8.

Sam, who was a pupil at Tudor Grange Academy School, suffered name calling, pranks and physical abuse before the bullies took to social media and he was receiving messages via Snapchat and Facebook messenger on a daily basis.

Sam’s dad, Mark said: “Snapchat messages only last seconds but when your getting those messages constantly, the seconds add up and they broke him down in the end.”

“It started as individuals but I think more people joined in with taunting him when it developed into cyber bullying.

“We will never know how serious those messages were because the police cannot get access to the messages due to encryption.

“It obviously got that bad that it pushed him over the edge. He had no escape from them because it wasn’t just at school anymore.

“It was online and offline and on and off the playground. They probably thrived off it or got a kick out of it.”

Sam confided in school friends and even teaching staff but after thinking the problem was under control, his parents were left in the dark about what their son was going through.

“He spoke to one particular teacher a lot and even visited the head teacher after one particular incident, we were really proud of him for doing that,” Mark said.

“We visited the school numerous times but he hated us going down there because he thought the bullies would call him a grass.

“He was reassured that if he spoke to this particular teacher, who he had a great relationship with, it would be dealt with.

“However the teacher was moved to a different department and Sam didn’t get to see him at the school everyday.”

Sam’s parents said he never really settled on one friend but moved between groups but noticed the bullying he suffered escalated when he went on a school skiing trip to Austria, last Easter.

Mark said: “It should of been the best trip of his life but he called us up every night crying, to the point that we wanted to bring him home”

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“They would torment him in the dormitories at night, name calling and playing pranks, pushing him.”

Anita added: “He loved school and loved learning. He just hated the people who were there. We think people were jealous of what he has achieved from such a young age.

“Teachers praised him at parents evening and he had such big plans for the future. Because he was doing so well we assumed things were fine.”

She added: “Since September he started to take more pride in his appearance, he was changing and growing up.

“He did get a little quiet towards the end but we just thought it was him being a teenager and being under pressure with homework.”

The daily abuse that Sam suffered for year became too much for him to bear when travelled from his home, in Warndon Villages, Worcester, to the city centre car park, just 10 minutes away.

Anita said: “His dad was away on a skiing trip and I had asked him to help with some housework.

“We had a very small disagreement and he said he was going out to clear his head but he never came home.

“I never told him I loved him that day. He was all alone and he carried those thoughts for months before he climbed those stairs.”

The family are now trying to deal with the impact of losing Sam, who was also a carer for his dad, after Mark lost his sight six years ago.

Mark, who also served in the armed forces, said: “If we went out anywhere he was my eyes, he would grab my arm and guide me.”

“We did a lot of charity work together for Blind Veterans UK.”

However the couple have vowed not to let the bullies win and Mark said:

“Getting angry over the bullies is not going bring him back and Sam wouldn’t want to see us suffer. They will leave with their own guilt for the rest of their lives.”

• If you have been affected by this article please call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (UK) 1850 60 90 90 (ROI) or visit www.samaritans.org to find details of the nearest branch. Samaritans is available round the clock, every single day of the year, for anyone who is struggling to cope.